GEOFF BENNETT: Well, the U.S.

House has returned to Washington after a nearly two-month absence, and lawmakers came back to a changing political landscape.

Since they left town in mid-July, President Trump has escalated or ignited controversies on a host of issues from Iran to the Great Lakes.

Now lawmakers must confront those fights while also facing a looming deadline to fund the government.

Lisa Desjardins was on Capitol Hill today with plenty of questions for lawmakers, and she's back here in our studio right now.

Good to see you, Lisa.

LISA DESJARDINS: Hi.

GEOFF BENNETT: Let's start with the most immediate business facing Congress that's keeping the government funded.

GEOFF BENNETT: The deadline is end of the month.

Where do things stand?

LISA DESJARDINS: Geoff, something unusual has happened.

Congress has met a funding deadline early.

This is what happened today.

The House of Representatives gave final passage to a bill funding government through December 11.

It also delays a ban on some hemp products until that time.

It passed 370-48.

Those no-votes were from both parties.

This bill now goes to President Trump.

What happened?

How was this so easy and normal?

This was a priority for Senate Leader Thune.

But also we're weeks from an election.

No one wants a shutdown.

GEOFF BENNETT: Now, all of this comes as the president, as we said, he's taken consequential, in some cases controversial actions.

Republicans control Congress, obviously.

What are you hearing from them about how he's using executive power?

LISA DESJARDINS: Those are good words for this, and a reminder that Congress, whoever's in the White House, has oversight power over the executive branch.

And I asked members of Congress about these actions that President Trump has taken.

A reminder to look at them quickly, a lot of them.

First of all, Iran war has escalated.

We're in a trade war with Canada.

We also have now imported tons of foreign beef.

We have a president trying to rename a great lake, and he has also threatened to demolish the Kennedy Center.

I asked Speaker Johnson about all of those, if he agrees with those decisions, or if he understands those Republicans who disagree.

He started with Iran.

He said the president is right to address a threat.

And he said that Iranians are bad faith negotiators.

REP.

MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Some of these things are out of our control, world events, what's happening in Iran.

Yes, we want to resolve that as quickly as possible.

The president is -- has steady hands at the wheel.

He is working every day to try to resolve this and negotiate it in a way that is in the best interest of the American people and freedom-loving people around the world.

So, look, you take issue by issue, we have got a strong hands-on president, and he is -- his record speaks for itself.

LISA DESJARDINS: But some other Republicans think it doesn't speak well.

Here's Nebraska's Don Bacon.

REP.

DON BACON (R-NE): Some of the things he's done, that it smells like chaos, it smells destructive.

Like, the Lake Ontario thing is just silly, right?

Most people think it's dumb.

I mean, swing voters are like, what?

It's just -- it's a self-goal by him.

It hurts the Republicans.

I would say the tariff war does too.

The president's focused on issues that are unpopular.

Why does he not talk about the border?

Why does he not talk about -- I think he's not done a good job on Iran convincing Democrats that it's the right thing to do.

LISA DESJARDINS: Bacon's retiring, but I spoke to other Republicans who aren't that agree with him.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, let's drill down on one of these issues.

That's beef imports.

That's put some Republicans from cattle producing states in a in a tough spot.

What are they telling you about the president's move?

LISA DESJARDINS: This is probably the deepest problem for the president in red states.

Now, the cattle industry has been struggling.

Not all of that is because of President Trump.

But as he's trying to bring down prices, we will see if that happens.

Cattlemen say that's going to hurt them.

He's trying to mitigate that.

But I spoke with several cattle country lawmakers who are diplomatic, but they are pushing back.

REP.

RYAN ZINKE (R-MT): A lot of these cattlemen who are 10 to maybe 50, so they're not really big producers.

But it seemed like a hit to them.

There's a lot of anger out there and uncertainty.

REP.

DEREK SCHMIDT (R-KS): I think the administration's heart is certainly the right place.

I think that they perhaps got some sour advice and ought to reconsider the whole approach.

And we have said that to the White House.

We have said it to USDA.

LISA DESJARDINS: Overall, Republicans still support the president, but they are questioning his actions more.

GEOFF BENNETT: And finally, Lisa, the House took action against one of its own accused of sexual harassment.

What happened?

LISA DESJARDINS: Right.

We're talking about North Carolina's Chuck Edwards.

The vote tonight was to censure him.

It was almost unanimous.

Edwards is accused of sexual harassment towards two female staffers, one as young as 19, when he met her, giving them things, jewelry, purses, even trips, those kinds of things that they say were unwanted.

They asked him to stop through a supervisor, and he did not.

It's an interesting case because he says that he did nothing wrong, this was just affectionate.

There's no physical contact that's alleged from him.

However, the House Ethics Committee and now Congress itself has said, no, you crossed a line here.

This was unwanted behavior, and it was inappropriate, and it was an improper power dynamic.

GEOFF BENNETT: Lisa Desjardins, thanks, as always.

LISA DESJARDINS: You're welcome.